Let It Rain
by darkangel199113
Summary: After being on the road for a day or so, Daryl and Beth find shelter in a barn while they wait for a storm to pass. (One-Shot)


Beth hovered her hand over her eyes as she stared toward the sky. The sun was barely a sliver behind a large, dark cloud, yet it still held its blinding affect.

"I think it's gonna rain," she mused before glancing to her side at her companion, Daryl Dixon. It was so strange to refer to him as her companion, but what other word could really fit him? After all they had been through in the last couple of days since leaving the prison, it seemed suitable for them. She had grown to see him as a friend, someone she knew she could always rely on. She knew he was reliable at the prison, but she never knew _she _could fully trust in him herself.

"Yup," he replied noncommittal. "Guess we better find shelter. C'mon," he said with a wave of his hand as he started off in a random direction. Maybe to her it didn't seem like he knew where he was going, but to him he knew exactly which way to go. It was as if it was written in his bones to know the right direction every time.

Beth didn't hesitate to follow him off into the trees. It seemed like no matter where they went, they were always surrounded by trees and enormous stretches of untamed land. They had found a shack a few days ago, but things hadn't exactly worked out for them there. It had been Beth's personal mission to find a drink then. She was tired of doing nothing but running around like a chicken without a head, so she made a big deal to find herself a drink. Daryl didn't really make any attempt to show that he understood it or not. She supposed by the end of that day, he was probably grateful to be thinking about something other than their current situation. She hadn't really asked him either way.

Daryl went along with her little scheme, the two of them soon stumbling upon a golf course. The only thing they had found there was some Peach Schnapps, and Beth assumed it would do. Of course she couldn't even manage to open the bottle, so Daryl made a decision for her. That decision didn't include any Peach Schnapps, though. He took her to that shack and gave her her first drink of Moonshine. She could still recall the feeling she had the next morning after the buzz was gone. And now that they were still wondering the woods and searching for shelter from an oncoming storm, Beth was starting to wish she hadn't suggested for them burn down that shack.

It had seemed like such a revelation at the time. Even Daryl seemed to agree. It still felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she thought about that burning shack. It was a symbol for them both. It was as if they were burning down all the horrible things that had ever happened to them. They let the smoke wash away the pain and sorrow. It wasn't like Beth had as horrible a past as Daryl, but she still felt pain. She felt like she had lost everyone and everything she loved in just a short amount of time. The most heartbreaking thing was her father's death right before her very eyes. It still seemed like it wasn't real sometimes.

"Hey," came Daryl's gruff voice. They were walking side by side, but Beth hadn't even noticed he had stopped and she was still walking.

She stopped and turned around to face him. "Sorry. Wasn't paying attention," she said with a slight blush, hoping he wouldn't reprimand her for being so careless.

He shook his head before taking a few steps closer and putting a hand on her shoulder. He guided her around by the shoulder, making her face the open field that expanded just beyond the tree line.

"There's a barn in the distance. Looks kind of beat down. Don't see a house to go with it, though," he explained before letting his hand drop to his side. It wasn't long before he was walking on ahead of her. She couldn't help but smile at his back, finding that he surprised her more than she thought he ever would. He was much calmer since their expedition for alcohol. She supposed that maybe her silly mission had gave him a reason to think about holding onto whatever hope might still be left in the world.

"Ya comin'?" he called when he realized she wasn't immediately following behind him.

Before she replied, a low gurgling sound came from somewhere in the trees. She made a quick glance over her shoulder before quickly shuffling after him. "Right behind you."

They both made haste toward the barn. Not just because of the sound of the dead behind them, but because of the rain drops that began to lightly hit their heads. It didn't really start pouring until they reached the door and discovered it was sealed tight by a long piece of wood. Daryl let out a string of curses as they stood there, slowly getting soaked to the bone.

"Help me get this damn thing off," he shot over his shoulder. There was still a hint of harshness in his tone, but he was trying not to sound too brash these days. Anyone would be annoyed to be getting pelted by rain.

Beth quickly took the other end. With their combined strength, it was easy to push it to the ground. He held her back as he slowly opened the door a crack, making sure there was no Walkers waiting for them inside. Once he made a quick sweep with his eyes, he pushed the door open and ushered her in before rushing in after her. He closed the door much quicker than he had opened it. He made sure to do one more look around the barn before placing his crossbow down at his feet and taking a seat in a pile of hay.

A sense of nostalgia washed over him. Not a good kind of nostalgia either. He was remembering the last time he'd seen Walkers in a barn. As the memory of Sophia coming out of that barn passed through his head, so did the faces of every person from his group. He released a sigh of frustration before running his hands through his soggy hair. Beth was sitting on a pile of hay next to him. She had taken off her boots and was wringing out her socks. He watched her for a moment before shaking his head vigorously, causing the water in his hair to sling everywhere in the same fashion as a dog.

"Daryl," she giggled before wiping the little droplets that had landed on her face away. "Am I gonna have to house train you?" she teased, giving him a little grin.

Daryl narrowed his eyes in a way that dared her to even try. "You're gettin' too sassy for your own good, Greene."

"It's not my fault that you rubbed off on me." Her grin had turned into that signature smile of hers. It was a smile that was hard not to notice, and even harder not to replicate. He found himself smiling in return, only not as wide as her.

"Guess we'll stay here for tonight. Can't very well travel in wet clothes. All that squishin' will attract attention," he said as he took off his own shoes and socks. There was a hole where his big toe poked out, and he found himself fingering it as soon as he relieved the sock from his foot.

"You need new socks," she began before a thought passed through her head. "Too bad we didn't have any soap when it started rainin'. You could have used a bath too," she remarked as that smile spread even wider.

"Sure you could use one too, Greene," he muttered, attempting to sound like his usual, sarcastic self. Instead, it just sounded like he was trying to hide the amusement at her statement.

Beth merely shook her head in return, earning yet another smile from him. He found that he was smiling more often than he ever imagined he would. He wasn't sure what it was about Beth that made him want to smile. Maybe it was simply just the way she held herself. He always knew she was a smart girl. She never said much and they had never really spoken during their time together with the rest of the group, but she always had this wit about her. Of course there was that moment on the farm when she had almost ended it all. When he thought about it, it made him angry. It made him angry that she wanted to give up, but he was mostly angry that she almost took that smile from the world.

It was a weird thing for him to think about. He just felt like she had this way of making everything seem almost okay. It would have been a shame for her not to be able to see that she had that effect on people. If she had ended her life, he would have never been able to find the strength in him right now to keep going. Simply put, she gave him a reason to want to keep going. To keep living.

Suddenly, a large crack of thunder resounded through the sky. Beth gasped at how it shook the very foundation of the barn. She wasn't scared of thunderstorms, but she couldn't deny that the sound was a little unnerving in their current situation. With the dead lurking around every corner, it was hard not to be a little jumpy these days.

"I hope this storm passes quickly. I don't think I can sleep if the thunder is any louder," she confessed as she laid back against the hay. Neither one of them had taken their wet clothes off. It just seemed like an unspoken agreement to let the hay be like a towel. It wasn't the most comfortable predicament, but Beth wasn't extremely confident of being almost naked in front of Daryl. She was almost certain that he felt about as embarrassed of that idea as she did.

Daryl leaned back in his pile of hay and started scooping it around him. "What? Don't like thunder?"

Beth shot him a look from the corner of her eye. He didn't look in her direction, but from the way he chuckled, she could tell he could just feel her eyes on him.

"Are you laughing at me? It's not very nice to laugh at a girl with a knife in her pocket."

"Wouldn't be the first time I got wounded by a crazy chick," he remarked before rubbing the side of his head where Andrea had grazed him with a bullet once. He shook his head at the memory, because thinking of Andrea was too sad. Besides, she wasn't the only crazy chick he was talking about. There had been plenty of crazy to go around before the world ended.

Beth watched him from the corner of her eyes for a moment longer. She could see he was off in his own thoughts, so she gently pushed herself to her feet and began looking around the barn. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for, hidden in a work bench with some tools. She decided to remember to take them before they left, figuring they'd probably come in handy sometime down the road. She returned to her pile of hay with her treasure in hand. Daryl finally glanced at her and saw the blanket she now was wrapping around herself.

"How'd you know there'd be somethin' like that in here?"

Beth shrugged. "Maggie and I use to keep all sorts of stuff in our barn, just in case. Of course that was before..." she explained, deciding not to finish her sentence. Just thinking about Maggie in general made her a little sadder. She wondered vaguely what her sister was doing. She hoped she was doing well, and was wrapped up in Glenn's arms where she belonged.

As thoughts of Maggie and her long term romance with Glenn played through her mind, another boom of thunder resounded through the sky. This time it had been so loud it made Beth jump. She wrapped herself up in the blanket and closed her eyes, wishing like hell that Maggie was actually there with her. She always knew what to say to calm her nerves. She found herself trying to burrow herself into the hay, hoping that the more she had around her would block out the sounds. It was no such luck, though. The next boom of thunder was nearly as worse as the last.

"Hey, ya okay?" questioned Daryl as he watched her ineffectively barrow herself in hay. It would have been amusing to watch if he didn't know just how uncomfortable all the noise was making her. When she glanced his way, he felt like a million needles were piercing his heart. She looked absolutely pitiful, staring back at him with those big, blue eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm probably being a pain. We should get some sleep."

Ignoring her comment, Daryl reached over and pulled her blanket away. "Ya cold?"

"Hey!" she snapped, trying to grab at it. "Yeah. That was kind of the point of the blanket." She dropped her hand and gave him a rather pointed look. "If ya wanted to share, all you had to do was ask. No need to steal things."

Daryl raised a brow at her. "I wasn't stealin' it," he began, not entirely sure what he was doing. Actually, he knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted an excuse to make her come closer. He could see she was upset. He didn't know if it was the storm, or the fact they were hauled up in a barn that reminded her so much of another life. Either way, he didn't want to flat out ask her to come over so he could comfort her. He wasn't sure how to even phrase something like that. Instead, he decided to use the old "why don't we huddle up for body heat" cliche. At least it was better than admitting he felt so much ache in his heart for seeing her so downtrodden.

"I was just thinkin' that if you're cold, we could...you know," he said shyly, trying to gesture with his open arms what he was too scared to say with his mouth.

Beth stared blankly at his open arms before it finally registered what he was doing. She couldn't help but smile at his thoughtful gesture. The way he shyly attempted to help calm her nerves made them slowly disappear.

As she untangled herself from the hay, another boom of thunder sent her nearly jumping into his arms. She hadn't meant to press herself so close, but the sudden noise had startled her. Now that she was so close to him, she felt a different kind of nervous wash over her. Her ear was so close to his chest that she swore she could hear the light beating of his heart.

"Jeez woman," he uttered. "Thank God you're so tiny. Would have crushed me otherwise."

Beth rolled her eyes playfully before feeling him wrap one arm around her shoulders. She decided not to retort with a quip of her own. She knew Daryl was just trying not to make things uncomfortable. However, that was the furthest thing she felt right now. As she laid her head in the crook of his neck and closed her eyes while he pulled the blanket over them both, all she felt was safe. The thunder was still blasting loudly outside, but not even a herd of Walkers clawing at the door could scare her right now.

It wasn't long before Beth drifted off to sleep, curled up in a ball against him. He had one arm around her and the other resting on his stomach. His eyes stared toward the ceiling and he tried hard to fall asleep. However, he just kept glancing toward the blonde sleeping contently next to him. She hadn't made one peep since she fell into his arms. That was the best way he could describe the way she leaped from her hay stack to his.

He slowly glanced over to her sleeping face and stared at the peaceful expression she held in her sleep. The storm outside was slowly dying down, but his heart seemed to be speeding faster and faster. He knew he should sleep too, but all he could see was her face. Even when he closed his eyes he was aware she was there. All the while, his mind was having a war with itself. One side couldn't wait for the morning to come, while the other was begging for it to wait just a little longer. Either way, Walkers sure as hell were the last thing that was on his mind right now. Right now the only thing that was making his heart beat was the thought of Beth Greene in his arms all night long.

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><p>Thank you for stopping in to read my shameless fluff! If you're one of the people that is currently reading my ongoing story, have no fear. Updates will happen this week. I know I'm only two chapters in and I don't have a lot of interest in my story yet, but I hope that this little one shot will tempt you all to stick to it. As for this story, it's really just a random thought I've had recently. It takes place between the burning of the shack and the funeral home. I tried hard to make it seem like she wasn't actually scared, just really sad. It was a barn and it reminded her of her old life. I really liked the idea of a thunderstorm making them cuddle, but I didn't wanna be cliche and say she's scared of thunder. I don't feel like Beth would be the kind of person that's scared of thunder. Maybe she'd be more scared of being alone in a thunderstorm. Anyway, I'm gonna stop blabbering now!<p> 


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